Summer Reading

What's on my summer reading list:

Threads - Almost finished with this lovely, fun, light read from Erin Latimer. Expect a review soon. 

The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Actually, I just finished this one last night. I'll be writing a review for this book as well.

Shift - In the middle of the self-published Hugh Howey book. It's very compelling, although not quite as neatly done as Wool.

The Hope Store - I'm beta reading for the fabulous Dwight Okita, pictured above. Is that a face???!!! I just turn into my Great-Aunt Ada when I see him and want to pinch his cheeks!

Well,  the cover's beautiful.

A Discovery of Witches - I'm going to give it another try. Perhaps it will grab me this time round.

The Brothers Karamazov - I really need to read this. I never have, and it's time.

Poetry - I must feed my new poetry addiction. Not quite certain what I'm going to read yet; used to have a big collection inherited from my mom's English professor days. Would like something like that.

The Fault in Our Stars - I read the sample on Amazon, and it looks fantastic.

Black Numbers - I'm rereading this one. When it's done, I can then read Blood Numbers, the second Aleph Null book. Be warned - these are NOT for the faint of heart or readers under 21! However, the concepts, world-building, and the author's depth of feeling for his characters make these books wonderful.

...and just maybe all three Fringe books too. I can't get enough of Walter Bishop.

Swimsuit Season

Hurray, here it is again - the time for me to dig out the ol' suit. And despite my diet and exercise regime, my bod just isn't, shall we say, prime rib at the moment. 

So here are some suits that I shan't be wearing:

Nope.

Not today, nor any day

OK, this appeals to my macabre sense of fashion.

And NO ONE should be wearing this little marble bag.

Instead, here are the suits I would like to be able to buy and wear:

Yes! Maybe without the boots.

Yes yes!

Bathing caps - maybe not so much.

Don't you just hate it when the dog steals your pipe at the beach?

Perhaps the suspenders are a bit much. Still better than the marble bag, though.

Relaxing - BlogFlash 2012

Sun Tea : Relaxation in a glass. 

I just made a jug of it. The sound of the water gushing into the glass jar, the plops of the tea bags, then my own bare feet walking it outside. 

The smell of the basil plants and the sound of crickets. Early sunlight filters through the trees and highlights the amber tendrils of tea, already starting to brew in the heat.

White and purple wings dancing around the butterfly bush.

The taste on my tongue, tea and agave. Ice clinks and water beads against my hand.

With it, a white nectarine, so ripe that juice spills onto the plate as soon as I slice it.

The hush of a new day. 

Summer in April

Summer came early yesterday, with soaring temperatures and nary a cloud in sight. It's a bit unfair when this happens in April, since I am just not ready. My feet need severe attention, meaning I have to give them a pedicure to go and get a pedicure, just maybe I need to shave my legs, and my skin is fishbelly white.


Sooooo, that means it is time to dig out the self-tanner stuff. I'm a self-tanner pro; it goes with the territory of being the Palest Woman in the World. I know how to avoid the dreaded orange palm syndrome and achieve a good line of demarcation on my arms. Of course, I don't aim to look tanned, you understand. No, my goal is to appear "Somewhat Normal."

You forgot to - oh, I'll just be over there.

Good stuff comes with early summer too, though, and you know what I'm talking about:


1. Sprinklers, see Running Through - Watching your kid do this is one of the best things you can get for free.

2. Those popsicles with two sticks - Orange flavor for me, just so I can get that weird looking tongue. (Blue is too obvious.) And let's not even start with the Ice Cream Truck, aka Kid's Major Begging Potential.


3. Open windows - As long as it's not too hot, I'm going to open my windows and get as much fresh air as possible. Until that pollen wave comes along, of course.


4. BBQ'ed Food - Time for burgers and dogs and foil wrapped fish on the grill! Ever bake a potato on there? I swear, they're so good you don't need butter. And once one neighbor starts, the smell makes everyone else grill too. It's like dominoes.

which leads to...


5. Eating outside - The sun! The breeze! The fun! The flies! 


6. Squirting each other with a hose when you are supposed to be washing a car - (self-explanatory.)


7. Eyeing up the pool wistfully - and then going back to the hose.


8. Flip-flops - I really, really have to get that pedicure. 

9. Tree frogs - Who is the person who works the switch that turns those suckers on when the temperature hits a certain level?


10. Fresh corn and tomatoes - They're nearly here! 


11. Time to plant those sunflower seeds - so that, this year, my kid can grow the tallest plant in the world. Hey, it could happen!


12. And, out of the blue, one last random point - Last night I dreamed about hummingbirds. Does that mean anything significant? Maybe it was just cool for its own sake.

Dude - you ROCK

Time to go and drag out the aloe shaving cream and self-tanning lotion, but at least I'll be able to breathe fresh air as I suffer.

It's Hot.

The pool is beckoning. The beach is too. I have a friend who's been bugging me to go to both. I have another friend who wants me to go shopping with her. For, like, clothes and stuff.

I seemed to have missed out on that fashion gene. Here's what is in my closet: old T shirts and yoga pants from Target. Those shirts and pants were great. I knew exactly where to find them in my local store. Didn't even have to try them on: I walked in, grabbed a shopping cart, wheeled back to the workout section and got my clothes. Blam.

Then  some  fool decided to change the material and sizing. Suddenly I was sporting the dreaded "camel toe" from the new Target pants, and the shirts weren't comfortable anymore. I realized that I was cut off from my clothing source.

Since then I haven't found a new place to shop. And my supply of clothes is dwindling. I'm really quite worried - those  shirts are developing holes, and the colors are getting a bit funky, and I know I have a reputation: Oh, look, here comes that woman in the old Target clothes.

That means that I really, really, really have to go and do clothes chopping. Which means: going out, and selecting clothes , and trying them on.  I have no idea what size I even wear anymore. I was an S in Target, but what does that mean? Does Macy's carry a Target S? No.

To the girlfriend who offered to  take  me shopping - thank you! You are the sweetest person ever! And I am so sorry that I cancelled the shopping date, for  this lame excuse: I have to set up for my daughter's birthdayy party.  Her reply was, "OK, I'll let you off the  hook this time, but - WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO WEAR TO THE PARTY?"